What happens next?
This section details what happens if your application is successful, and if your application is unsuccessful, and outlines how to claim.
We will send you a detailed plan which will become the facilitation agreement. The agreement will include the facilitation plan, offer letter and terms and conditions. When you have accepted the agreement, you can then start supporting the group to deliver the Countryside Stewardship outcomes as agreed in the facilitation agreement.
For example, this can include:
- helping group members without agreements, or with existing agreements that are due to expire, to interpret the CS statements of priorities so they submit individual but complementary CS applications (including endorsing the content of the application once submitted.)
- provide or source relevant knowledge and expertise on a one-to-many basis, to develop group members’ skills that are directly required to deliver the CS priorities in the statements of priorities
- broadening the group to other land managers, relevant voluntary and/or statutory organisations if the group wants this to happen
- where appropriate, directing members of the group to additional funding sources and making sure that no land or activity in the group receives double funding
You will also need to provide quarterly reports to us on implementing the agreed detailed plan, as evidence with the claim
You will receive an email to explain why your application was rejected. You will then have the right to appeal, as set out in section 7.7.
Claims are submitted to, processed and paid by us, the Rural Payments Agency.
The claim must be supported by proof of expenditure and evidence of payment (for example scanned receipted invoices and bank statements) in support of items claimed. You must also include timesheets with your claim, showing the time duration for activities.
You must submit your Grant claim and Progress form(s) and all supplementary information needed by the dates in the table below. If you do not the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may apply a penalty or the whole Grant claim may be rejected.
| Year | Quarters | Grant claim and Progress form(s) must be submitted between these dates |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Q1 Jan - Mar | 15 April – 31 May 2020 |
| 2020 | Q2 Apr - Jun | 15 July – 31 August 2020 |
| 2020 | Q3 Jul - Sep | 15 Oct – 30 Nov 2020 |
| 2020 | Q4 Oct - Dec | 15 Jan – 28 Feb 2021 |
| 2020 | Q4 Annual Report | 1 January – 15 February 2021 |
| 2021 | Q1 Jan - Mar | 15 April – 31 May 2021 |
| 2021 | Q2 Apr - Jun | 15 July – 31 August 2021 |
| 2021 | Q3 Jul - Sep | 15 Oct – 30 Nov 2021 |
| 2021 | Q4 Oct - Dec | 15 Jan – 28 Feb 2022 |
| 2021 | Q4 Annual Report | 1 January – 15 February 2022 |
| 2022 | Q1 Jan - Mar | 15 April – 31 May 2022 |
| 2022 | Q2 Apr - Jun | 15 July – 31 August 2022 |
| 2022 | Q3 Jul - Sep | 15 Oct – 30 Nov 2022 |
| 2022 | Q4 Oct - Dec | 15 Jan – 28 Feb 2023 |
| 2022 | Q4 Annual Report | 1 January – 15 February 2023 |
2020 Agreement holder claims
- Submit your Grant claim and Progress form electronically to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk with the subject heading CS Facilitation Fund Claim- SBI123456789 and CSFF123456. You and all the Facilitation Fund group members need the correct permission level on the Rural Payment service.
- Sign your declaration, scan it into your computer and submit it along with the Grant claim and Progress form. You should keep the original document for your records.
- Complete sections 1-3 in the Grant claim and Progress form and submit supporting evidence to show the:
- expenditure during the previous quarter
- progress against the objectives and milestones in the Facilitation Fund agreement
- We will only pay for approved and eligible spend that is evidenced by the supporting documentation. If you have changed your Facilitation Plan and what you will be claiming for in a given quarter, this must have been authorised by RPA before claiming.
Pre 2020 Agreement holder claims
- Submit the Grant claim and Progress form electronically to the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund Huddle Workspace. Then notify RPA’s Claims payment team using the ‘share with others’ function on Huddle. You will be invited to join the CSFF Huddle Workspace. For sensitive information you will need to encrypt the documents. You can use Microsoft’s own encryption. (From the File tab, click on info (if not already selected) then chose Protect Presentation/Document/ Spreadsheet in the ‘Permissions’ section and choose ‘Encrypt with Password’). You then choose a password and inform RPA.
- Send us your signed declaration. This should be scanned into your computer and submitted along with the Grant claim and Progress form. You should keep the original document for your records.
- Fill in sections 1-3 in the Grant claim and Progress form and send supporting evidence to show the expenditure during the previous quarter and the progress against the objectives/milestones in the Facilitation Fund agreement.
- We will only pay for approved and eligible spend that is evidenced by the supporting documentation. If you have changed your Facilitation Plan and what you will be claiming for in a given quarter, this must be authorised by RPA before claiming.
Eligible costs include:
- costs associated with administration
- travel and subsistence
- meetings
- VAT where the facilitator is NOT VAT registered
- costs associated with providing training on activities directly required for the delivery of the CS priorities in the statements of priorities. These could include:
- training materials
- training venues
- buying in the trainers in accordance with requirements for knowledge and expertise provision section below.
Ineligible costs include:
- costs of submitting this application or other activities prior to its submission
- VAT where the facilitator is VAT registered
- provision of one-to-one advice to a group member
- completion of Countryside Stewardship applications on behalf of group members
- provision of monitoring information to RPA
VAT is complex and you should not assume that VAT is recoverable even if the business or organisation is registered. You should seek advice from your accountant, a VAT specialist or HM Revenue and Customs, before submitting an application.
The areas subject to control and verification are below. Work may also be subject to inspection, as we are required to inspect at least 5% of expenditure annually. Facilitators will need to provide evidence to RPA of their compliance in the following areas:
- that eligibility criteria continue to be met
- the work on fostering cooperation within the group
- the work on securing or providing for the transfer of knowledge and expertise
- what the group is doing differently as a result of facilitation and the difference this is making to the CS priorities in the statements of priorities
- the work to support members of the group to apply for individual but complementary CS agreements
- any work being done to broaden the group or secure funding from other sources
- compliance with the facilitation agreement
If it is found that the eligibility criteria are no longer being met, the agreement may end and the funding recovered.
The facilitator will need to provide evidence of the sessions that they have had with the group including the:
- duration
- dates
- issues covered
- time spent on preparation
- details of the facilitator’s costs
- signed and dated statements from at least two members of the group that each session took place and details of their value to them
Where the facilitator provides training on knowledge and expertise provision or other knowledge transfer activities, the facilitator will need to provide evidence that the training/other activities have been provided. This should include:
- the length of each session
- the date
- the names of the group members who received the training/other knowledge transfer activity
- the subjects covered
- feedback from at least two members of the group at the session on the value of it to them
Where the facilitator has secured training from a sub-contractor, they will also need to provide receipts for the costs of the training, including:
- the sub-contractor’s details
- evidence that the sub-contractor was selected in an open and fair way
- evidence that they provided the best value for money.
The facilitator should provide a short annual report which draws on the quarterly reports. This should identify what is being done differently and the difference this is having on the ground. At least two members of the group will need to sign off the report to confirm its contents.
The facilitator should also provide evidence of the amount of time they have spent helping members of the group to interpret the CS guidance so that individual CS applications can be submitted by members of the group. Each member of the group receiving this support will have to sign and date the evidence to confirm that the facilitator provided this guidance, for the duration specified and that the facilitator did not prepare the applications on their behalf.
If the facilitator is broadening the group’s membership or signposting members to other funding sources, they will need to provide evidence:
- of the time that has been spent doing this
- of the approaches to new members or funding sources
- to confirm that any funding can be used to help deliver the priorities that the group is taking forward and that it is not ‘double funded’ under any Rural Development Programme for England scheme.
The facilitator should provide quarterly reports on their compliance with the facilitation agreement and the milestones contained within it. If there are reasons why it cannot be complied with, the facilitator should notify us as soon as possible and not wait for a quarterly report. If the facilitation agreement is not being met, payments may be withheld but each case will be assessed on its individual merits.
Where two members of the group are to provide confirmation of the facilitator’s activities, the same members should not be used every time.
The facilitator should keep all necessary records for at least seven years after the agreement has ended, as they may be required for inspections.
Where the facilitator provides the necessary training and other knowledge transfer activities, they must provide:
- evidence of their qualifications and accreditations to show that they have the relevant knowledge and expertise of the subjects to be covered
- evidence that they have expertise of delivering training
- evidence to show how their qualifications and accreditations will be maintained and new ones acquired
- information with examples on how they monitor their continuous development and how they keep records of this.
Where the facilitator (agreement holder) is a partnership or organisation, the requirements apply to all trainers to be used.
Where the facilitator is procuring the necessary training and other knowledge transfer activities from a sub-contractor and the cost of this will be more than £500, they must:
- confirm that they will invite applications for the sub-contract in an open and transparent way. They will also select the best value for money tender from a minimum of at least three providers unless they can provide evidence that fewer than three providers applied for the sub-contract
- confirm that they will select a provider with the relevant expertise to deliver it through qualifications, accreditations or other expertise.
Where the facilitator is procuring the necessary training and other knowledge activities from a sub-contractor and the cost of this will be £500 or under, they are free to choose who to select without obtaining 3 separate quotes. However, they must:
- confirm that they will select a provider with the relevant expertise to deliver the training through qualifications, accreditations or other expertise.
Any courses of instruction or training which form part of normal education programmes or systems at secondary or higher levels are not eligible for support.
This guidance is for sub-contracting for training provision.
- Less than/equal to £500 - it’s the facilitators choice
- More than £500 and less than £10,000 – three quotes needed, or use single tender if only one supplier
- More than £10,000 - formal tender.
All amounts above are net of VAT (i.e. £500 + vat).
Procurement for Tenders
If your beneficiary is using a public procurement process, please answer the following questions using the table below as guidance when accessing the application:
- confirm the eligibility of the tender specification
- evaluate the tender
- do all the quotes provided meet the requirements
1. Confirm the eligibility of the tender specification
Copy of the tender specification
Action: You must keep a copy of the published tender specification to include any drawings or plans. Please keep any adverts for the project file. If procurement is carried out via electronic portal or system you will need to keep relevant screen shots on the project file for audit purposes.
Check of the tender specification
Action: Read through tender specification to make sure it hasn’t been written for an individual company which would rule out other companies in the scoring process. It should be an accurate description of services required.
2. Evaluate the tender
Criteria to check:
- Date and time tender was received (receipt)
- Companies’ house check and VAT number check, if applicable
- Price of works
- Key questions
- Rationale of the decision made
Action: This document may be listed as a scorecard. You should make sure that the scorecard has the following criteria when the applicant was accessing/scoring the tenders:
- was it within the timeframe set on the tender specification This will make sure the company is in situ and trading and there are no conflicts of interest for directors and employees with a direct link
- Is there a clear breakdown of all costs to include net cost of the works, VAT costs and gross?
- are there clear questions/matrix about the actual scope works required – these should be based on the actual tender specification which was advertised?
- Why did the tender score what it did and why has it been selected or not selected. You must be able to justify negatives in case of challenge as well as the winning tender.
3. Do all the quotes provided meet the requirements
Criteria to check:
Quotes must
- come from different, independent suppliers who are not linked to each other or to the business applying for funding through shared ownership or control
- include a detailed and itemised breakdown of costs
- include the supplier’s business name, address (including postcode) and telephone number
- be comparable with each other in terms of quality, size, quantity, units and specification for every item
- have been obtained within the last 9 months and still be valid
- be addressed to the applicant business or agent (containing the business name, business or project address, if different, and postcode).
- must clearly reference the project and its location, if the quote is addressed to your agent.
Action: All competitive quotes obtained under the tender must be kept by the project for audit purposes.
We cannot retrospectively add new group members to your group. If you tell us you would like to add someone to the group we will assess their eligibility, update your change log and email it back to you as a record of your request. If agreed, we will send you an updated facilitation plan.